Cracking a new nut

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Betty

When did they start calling filberts in Oregon hazelnuts? And why? I had spent fifty years in Oregon befor relocating in two thousand.I spent many years picking filberts in the Willamette valley in the fall.They were never called hazelnuts then.Why the change?

02:55 pm - Sun, March 10 2013

Jeb Bladine

Betty,

Months later, I know, but at last a response:

The filbert sometimes is defined as a species of the hazel tree, sometimes as a nut “very similar to the hazelnut,” and, for decades in Oregon, was the primary term for commercial hazelnuts in general. According to sources, Oregon hazelnut growers over time converted to “hazelnut” terminology in order to avoid confusion and better brand their product to appeal to global markets.